34 
ing  trees  or  herbs  that  we  already  have  here,  such  as  eucalyptus 
species  and  logwood,  some  one  of  which  is  in  flower  at  all  times 
of  the  year  and  all  have  a decided  aroma.  If  the  apiary  is  near 
mud  flats  or  on  swampy  land  the  mangrove  is  valuable.  Florida 
mangrove  honey  commands  a very  high  price,  it  is  said.  There 
are  other  plants,  too,  which  may  be  utilized  : the  logwood  of  the 
West  Indies  ( Hacmatoxylon  campechicmum) , which  is  well 
established  here,  or  the  Chinese  ink  berry  (Oestrum  diurnum) , 
which  grows  wild  in  many  places. 
We  succeeded  this  year  in  getting  Dr.  E.  F.  Phillips,  Apicul- 
turist  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Entomology,  to  visit  the  islands. 
All  of  you  who  met  him  recognized  that  he  was  an  expert  in  the 
business  and  had  an  eye  not  only  to  the  scientific  side  of  apicul- 
ture, but  also  to  its  commercial  bearing.  He  has  written  a very 
careful  report,  describing  conditions  as  he  found  them  here, 
which  is  in  the  press  now  and  which  will  in  due  course  of  time 
be  received  here.  I understand  that  Dr.  Phillips’  paper  will  be 
well  illustrated  by  photographs  which  he  took  here  on  the  occasion 
of  his  visit.  This  brief  mention  of  Dr.  Phillips’  visit  is  perhaps 
sufficient  since  we  shall  have  shortly  from  himself  a detailed 
report  of  what  he  saw  in  Hawaii. 
Another  matter  which  occupied  our  attention  was  the  question 
of  tariff  revision,  in  the  interest  of  the  Hawaiian  beekeepers. 
The  Chamber  of  Commerce  asked  the  Association  to  appoint  a 
committee  to  confer  with  the  representatives  of  other  industries 
of  the  islands  on  what  Hawaii  should  do  when  Congress  met  to 
discuss  tariff  revision.  We  appointed  a committee  and  I should 
like  to  read  part  of  the  letter  which  it  sent  to  the  Tariff  Revision 
Committee  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce.  It  is  as  follows: 
“The  honey  and  wax  industry  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands  rep- 
resents an  investment  of  some  $250,000.  The  industry  is  one 
of  the  few  minor  undertakings  that  is  established  and  on  a paying 
basis.  However,  the  margin  of  profit  is  so  small  that  a discon- 
tinuance of  the  present  tariff  would  ruin  the  local  apiaries.  The 
net  profit  does  not  average  more  than  one-half  cent  per  pound, 
while  the  duty  on  honey  amounts  to  one  and  two-thirds  cents  per 
pound.  The  Hawaiian  product  comes  in  direct  competition  with 
Cuban  honey  and  Cuba  can  produce  honey  and  pay  the  duty  of 
one  and  two-thirds  cents  per  pound  and  sell  at  a profit  for  the 
same  price  that  the  Hawaiian  producers  receive.  As  is  the  case 
with  all  products  of  Hawaii,  honey  and  wax  must  go  to  the  main- 
land or  world’s  market.  There  is  no  chance  whatever  to  sell  an 
appreciable  amount  locally  as  a table  honey.  Neither  are  there 
large  baking  or  confectionery  concerns  here  that  can  use  it  in 
bulk ; neither  can  the  Hawaiian  producers  place  their  honey  on 
the  mainland  market  as  a table  honey  in  competition  with  the 
producers  of  that  article  there.  The  Hawaiian  product  does  not 
come  in  competition  with  the  table  honey  trade  of  the  mainland 
